VANCOUVER – The Portland State women's tennis team finished with a weekend split, falling to Northern Arizona 6-1 on Sunday at the Vancouver Tennis Center.
 
The Vikings picked up a 7-0 sweep of Whitman earlier in the weekend and now sit at 3-4 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky action while the Lumberjacks opened their conference season with a win to improve to 2-5, 1-0 in conference.
 
"Looking back, I couldn't have asked for a better effort, they played smart they played hard, and I think everyone is walking off the court knowing what they need to improve on," said Head Coach Kyle Russell.
 
Northern Arizona edged out the Vikings for the doubles point, winning two of the three matches. After the Lumberjacks picked up a 6-1 win on court three, Eszter Zador and Jacinta Milenkoski continued their success as a duo, winning 6-4 on court two to even the series.
 
At the No. 1 spot, Lotti Meszaros and Nina Nikitovic fought back from a 5-3 deficit, winning three straight games to go up 6-5 in the deciding match. NAU's top duo of Adrianna Sosnowska and Mimi Bland bounced back, winning the deuce point to force the tiebreaker, eventually winning 7-3 to earn the point for the Lumberjacks.
 
Zador and Milenkoski have now won the last four matches when paired with each other, leading the Big Sky with a .833 win percentage at 5-1.
 
"That's a really good team we played today and we kind of stood toe to toe with them," added Russell. "I was extremely proud of everything, being a thumbnail away from getting the doubles point and the way they fought in every singles match was really great today."
 
In singles, Meszaros battled against NAU's No. 1, falling 6-2, 6-2 against 44^th-ranked Chiara Tomasetti. At No. 2 Milenkoski fell 6-3, 6-4 while the Lumberjacks clinched the win with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4.
 
Zador had a strong start to her singles match, opening with a 6-3 win in set one. NAU's Emilie Haakansson fought back, winning 6-2 in the second before taking the tiebreaker 10-7
 
Emily Rees avoided the sweep for the Vikings, winning her match in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 6 spot, improving to 3-2 on the season. After dropping the first set 7-5, Alli Valk came back after being down 5-1 in the tiebreaker of her second set to even the match. With the dual decided and playing a match tiebreaker, Valk couldn't hang on, losing 10-7 as NAU claimed its sixth point.
 
Portland State will have two more matches next weekend, pausing conference action to take Gonzaga on Feb. 29 before returning to Big Sky play against Eastern Washington on Sunday, March 1.
 
RESULTS:
DOUBLES:
Adrianna Sosnowska/Mimi Bland (NAU) def. Lotti Meszaros/Nina Nikitovic (PSU) 7-6 (7-3)
Eszter Zador/Jacinta Milenkoski (PSU) def. Chiara Tomasetti/Ellie Millard (NAU) 6-4
Emilie Haakansson/Elinor Beazley (NAU) def. Alli Valk/Emily Rees (PSU) 6-1
 
Chiara Tomasetti (NAU) def. Lotti Meszaros (PSU) 6-2, 6-2
Adrianna Sosnowska (NAU) def. Jacinta Milenkoski (PSU) 6-3, 6-4
Ellie Millard (NAU) def. Nina Nikitovic (PSU) 6-1, 7-5
Emilie Haakansson (NAU) def. Eszter Zador (PSU) 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7)
Emily Rees (PSU) def. Madi Moore (NAU) 6-3, 6-3
Elinor Beazley (NAU) def. Alli Valk (PSU) 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-7)